Aligning school reform and teacher education reform in the middle years : an australian case study

This paper discusses the development of a new Bachelor of Education (Middle Years of Schooling) at The University of Queensland. The middle years of schooling have increasingly been the focus of education reform initiatives in Australia, but this has not been accompanied by significant increases in the number of teacher education institutions offering specialised middle schooling-level teacher preparation programmes. Considering the rapidly changing social and economic context and the emergent state of middle schooling in Australia, the programme represented a conceptual and practical opportunity and challenge for The University of Queensland team. Working collaboratively, the team sought to design a teacher education preservice programme that was both responsive and generative: that is, responsive to local school contexts and to current educational research and reform at national and international levels; and generative of cutting-edge theories and practices associated with middle schooling, teachers' work, and teacher education. This paper focuses on one component of the Middle Years of Schooling Teacher Education programme at The University of Queensland; namely, the practicum. We first present the underlying principles of the practicum programme and then examine "dilemmas" that emerged early in the practicum. These issues and tensions were associated with the ideals of "middle years" philosophy and the pragmatics of school reform associated with that new approach. In this paper, and within this context, we explore what it means to be both responsive and generative, and describe how we as teacher educators negotiated between the extremes these terms implied.

Making it real : pre-service music teacher education students ideas about artists-in-schools

Globally teacher educators try to prepare culturally inclusive students in an ever-crowded curriculum It is difficult to give students in-depth experiences of other musics and their cultural contexts. In schools, teachers are also faced with the. same challenges. This shortfall may be met by artists-in-schools programs. This paper focuses on the perceptions of pre-service music educators concerning artists-in- schools programs. The study builds on ongoing research (2003-2008), Intercultural attitudes of preservice music education students, between Deakin and Monash universities. Australia only the 2008 interviews (analysed using interpretative Phenomenological Analysis) are discussed. The paper reports only on one aspect that underpins artists-in-schools programs — the importance of authentic practice. Although international studies have, provided insights into artists-in—schools programs little attention has been paid to pre-service specialist music teacher understandings of such programs. It is imperative to know the attitudes that our teachers carry with theta into their future professional engagement The findings of this study provide insight into the need br artists-in-schools programs and the ways in which teachers can link theory to practice, fill in omissions in their own knowledge, skills and understandings. and also heighten student understandings of multicultural musics.

Doing the ultimate public good through teacher education

It is argued here that the many public goods associated with education are derivatives of an ultimate good. This ultimate good is the overall purpose of life in general and is similar to a telos as understood in ancient Greek culture. This paper reviews the notions of ‘good' and telos, and examines implications of Bauman’s analysis of our present individualizing era, the role of personal meaning making and the nature of education. It is then argued that preservice teachers can do the ultimate public good in a postmodern society, by articulating a developed personal, professional perspective that expresses a purpose (telos) of life.

'I do lots of things that the University would not approve of'. What counts as professional knowledge in the eyes of pre-service and beginning teachers -implications of the encounter for the role of teacher educators in pre-service middle school preparati

This paper is an account of teacher educator perceptions of the take-up by beginning teachers of the values and practices advocated in pre-service education. Methodologically grounded in a critical ethnographic account, two teacher educator/researchers retell their understanding of the one-month experience as middle school classroom teachers in an allocated school. The paper examines the consequences of what counts as professional knowledge in the eyes of pre-service and beginning teachers and the implications of the encounter for the role of teacher educators in preservice preparation. The purpose of the research is to consider the well-researched issue of the rejection of academic training (to greater or lesser extents) that is experienced by very many preservice and beginning teachers at some stage after experience in schools. As an exemplary colleague teacher said to us as we negotiated our participation in the school: "I do lots of things that the University would not approve of". Our argument is that teacher education needs the kind of participatory inquiry represented by the undertaking and methodology of this project. The paper is the 'primary record' (Carspecken 1996) of the research and works to open the next phase, the dialogical stage of the research process.

Productive pedagogies : is it an intelligible language for preservice teachers?

Australian teacher educators and teachers have become increasingly familiar with the notion of ‘Productive Pedagogies’, itself the product of longitudinal research on school reform recently undertaken in Queensland, Australia (Lingard et al., 2001a, , 2001b) . One of its strengths has been its efficacy for in-service teachers to use as a language to talk about their pedagogical work and hence a way of reclaiming some of the ground on what constitutes good teaching. In part, this can be attributed to the numerous observations of teachers’ classroom practice that informed the construction of Productive Pedagogies (PPs). That is, many teachers understand these as naming what ‘good’ teachers have always done. In this paper the value of PPs as a metalanguage for developing pre-service teachers’ knowledge and understanding of teaching is examined; whether PPs is a language that is intelligible for pre-service teachers without access to this prior teacher knowledge or whether its elements and dimensions merely constitute an isolated vocabulary. A case study of four pre-service teachers provides the context for this exploration and its empirical data. Drawing on their fieldwork observations of teaching practice, voiced in the language of PPs, the paper argues that PPs language is indeed useful in the development of pre-service teachers’ understanding of teaching, particularly in assisting them to name evidence of teachers’ recognition of and engagement with difference.

Building awareness of mathematical modelling at teacher education: a case study in Indonesia

A growing interest to teach mathematics closely connected to its use in daily life has taken place in Indonesia for over a decade (Sembiring, Hadi, and Dolk 2008). This chapter  reports an exploratory case study of  the building of an awareness of mathematical modelling in teacher education in Indonesia. A modelling task, re-designing a parking lot (Ang 2009), was assigned to groups of pre-service secondary mathematics teachers. All groups undertook the stages of collecting data on a parking lot, identifying limitations in the current design of the parking lot, and proposing a new design based on their observations and analyses. The nature of the mathematical models elicited by pre-service teachers during various stages of completing the modelling task will be examined. Implications of this study suggest the need to encourage pre-service teachers to state the assumptions and real-world considerations and link them to the mathematical model in order to validate their models.

Significance of a multimedia resource in the professional learning of preservice teachers

This phenomenological inquiry seeks to understand the complexity of teacher professional learning through analysis of the use of a multimedia curriculum resource in initial teacher education programs. The study follows seven preservice teachers at three points over the course of an eighteen month period to gain understandings of how they are making meaning of their becoming teacher journeys. For the purposes of this paper only one aspect of the doctoral study is reported on due to the limitations of space. Consequently, this paper focuses on the findings of the significance of using a multimedia curriculum resource, known as QuILT, for professional learning. The qualitative study used questionnaires that included open-ended questions and semi-structured interviews with each of the seven preservice teachers at three points over an eighteen month period; as well as artefacts such as their QuILT related assessment. The paper reports on the findings that the multimedia resource and its pedagogical use provide a rich professional learning environment for preservice teachers.

Using professional atandards : assessing work integrated learning in initial teacher education

All Australian teacher education programs must include practical experience--the practicum. It is a critical part of learning to become a teacher.  One of the major challenges in initial teacher education is to provide good quality assessment of the practicum.  Assessing the practicum is filled with tension for both the individual supervisor as well as the pre-service teacher. In 2011 the Australian National Professional Standards for Teachers were established.  On completion of teacher education programs, graduate teachers will have gained the knowledge and practice to meet the seven national standards.  For teacher preparation programs, the successful implementation of the standards will rely on the opportunities for preservice teachers to gather evidence of achieving the standards. This project focussed specifically on evidence of achievements of these standards through assessment practices during practicum.
The overall aim of this project was to enhance the academic and school-based teacher educators' and preservice teachers' capacities and understandings of assessing the practicum.  To achieve this aim, four outcomes were developed to provide professional leaning for improving the assessment practices of the practicum: a website resource, a collaborative partnership process, a professional learning model (PLM) and a developmental 'inventory' of evidence of achievement of the first five national standards.  The website resource provides materials and activities for staff involved in the design of professional experience in initial teacher education programs, to work with partner schools and preservice teachers to facilitate high quality supervision and assessment in practicum sites.  The collaborateive partnership process used for achieving these soutcomes -- communities of reflective practitioners--is integral to the professional learning focus of the project.  It guides the use of the resource in future teacher education sites of practice.  The professional learning model and website materials emphasise the critical role that evidence-informed judgements play at school sites in learning and assessment of future teachers.

The task of designing tasks for teacher education and development

Posing, adapting, and creating worthwhile tasks that support student learning are significant pedagogical practices of teachers. However in mathematics education, task design and curriculum development are not often the responsibility of practicing teachers. Textbooks can become the main source of mathematics problems and teachers often follow the text and its sequence of problems. Although mathematics teachers can benefit from access to research-based curriculum resources, limited opportunities to adapt and design tasks can make it challenging to meet the diverse needs and interests of their students. More opportunities for learning to create problems are needed for both practicing and beginning mathematics teachers. What then is involved in learning to pose, adapt and create worthwhile mathematics tasks? More specifically, how can teacher educators design tasks that support teacher candidates in learning to create mathematical tasks? As teacher educators we have, over the past few years, used our own courses as sites in Australia and Canada for investigating various contexts to support preservice teachers in their learning to adapt and create mathematical tasks. Our research includes both large scale and small qualitative studies to explore the perspectives of teacher candidates on learning to create and pose mathematical problems, the kinds of problems they pose, and the opportunities and challenges this offers us as teacher educators. Our work is inspired by Variation Theory that focuses on learning as the act of awareness and discernment of variation. We are exploring both how variation theory can be useful for preservice teachers in their designing, posing and adapting of mathematical tasks and for teacher educators in their design of such pedagogical tasks. The results of our work support the argument that tasks to design, adapt and pose mathematical problems enhance their pedagogical understanding and should be a feature of teacher education courses. This is a new area for research and practice; further exploration of the suitability of particular tasks in elementary mathematics teacher education is recommended.

Physical education teacher training in fundamental movement skills makes a difference to instruction and assessment practices

The purpose of this study was to investigate instruction and assessment of fundamental movement skills (FMSs) by Physical Education (PE) teachers of Year 7 girls. Of 168 secondary school PE teachers, many had received little FMSs professional development, and although most assessed student FMSs proficiency, the quality of assessment was variable. Neither years of experience nor confidence influenced the quality of assessment tools used; however, greater FMSs training improved assessment practice regularity. Teachers more recently out of preservice were more confident in demonstrating FMSs. The results suggest that FMSs education for teachers should be a priority inclusion in both the training of preservice teachers and the ongoing professional development of in-service teachers.

Changes in Preservice Teachers’ Self-Efficacy: From Science Methods to Student Teaching

The purpose of this research was to assess preservice teachers self-efficacy at different stages of their educational career in an attempt to determine the extent to which self-efficacy beliefs may change over time. In addition, the critical incidents, which may contribute to changes in self-efficacy, were also investigated. The instrument used in the study was the Teaching Science as Inquiry (TSI) Instrument. The TSI Instrument was administered to 38 preservice elementary teachers to measure the self-efficacy beliefs of the teacher participants in regard to the teaching of science as inquiry. Based on the results and the associated data analysis, mean and median values demonstrate positive change for self-efficacy and outcome expectancy throughout the data collection period.

Preservice, Secondary Social Studies Teachers' Perceptions of Gender Equity

This study examines preservice, social studies teachers’ perceptions of gender equity. The assumption that preservice teachers recognize gender as an important issue and are willing and able to take the initiative to remedy inequities in their classroom structures and content is considered. Six participants were interviewed using Seidman’s (2006) three-round, interview protocol. A focused life history was compiled to situate participants’ perceptions within their personal and professional experiences. Findings suggest a disconnect between preservice teachers' intentions and their practice in regards to gender equity. More explicit attention to gender equity in teacher education programs is recommended.

Cultural influence and learning to teach: Beginning teachers' perceptions of teacher preparation programs and school support systems

Beginning teachers in the field of English Language Arts and Reading are responsible for providing literacy instruction to students. Teachers need a broad background in teaching reading, writing, listening, speaking, and viewing, as well as critical thinking. In secondary schools in particular, beginning English Language Arts and Reading teachers are also faced with the challenge of preparing students to be proficient enough readers and writers to meet required State standards. Beginning teachers must navigate compelling challenges that exist during the first years of teaching. The school support systems available to new teachers are an integral part of their educational development. ^ This qualitative study was conceptualized as an in-depth examination of the experiences and perceptions of eight beginning teachers. They represented different racial/ethnic groups, attended different teacher preparation programs, and taught in different school cultures. The data were collected through formal and informal interviews and classroom observations. A qualitative system of data analysis was used to examine the patterns relating to the interrelationship between teacher preparation programs and school support systems. ^ The experiences of the beginning teachers in this study indicated that teacher education programs should provide preservice teachers with a critical knowledge base for teaching literature, language, and composition. A liberal arts background in English, followed by an extensive program focusing on pedagogy, seems to provide a thorough level of curriculum and instructional practices needed for teaching in 21st century classrooms. The data further suggested that a school support system should pair beginning teachers with mentor teachers and provide a caring, professional environment that seeks to nurture the teacher as she/he develops during the first years of teaching. ^

Teacher efficacy of special education teachers of English language learners with disabilities

This research examined the perceived teacher efficacy of special education teachers of English Language Learners (ELLs) with educational disabilities by surveying 202 elementary special education teachers using the EXCEL Teacher Inventory. EXCEL consists of 20 teacher efficacy items, three open-ended questions, and participant demographic items. ^ Overall participant teacher efficacy scores were high. Of the variables assessed, a statistically significant difference in perceived efficacy was found with self-reported proficiency in the language of the target students. No statistically significant differences in teacher efficacy scores were found for (a) levels of teacher preparation; (b) number of years of teaching experience; or (c) socioeconomic status of the students. A multiple regression analysis indicated that, of the variables listed above, proficiency in the language of the target students accounted for significant variance in predicting the level of teachers' perceived efficacy. ^ Responses to the open-ended questions about what was most helpful when working with ELLs with disabilities yielded two major themes: organizational issues and teacher issues. Participants wrote numerous comments about the value of support from educational professionals and parents. Many participants recommended individuals in preservice programs take ESOL content specific courses. ^ The results demonstrate the positive correlation between proficiency in the language of the target students and teacher efficacy. This suggests that teachers of ELLs with disabilities have proficiency in the ELLs' native language (or have support from others who are language proficient) that allows them to distinguish between language difference and language disability and provide instruction in the native language when needed. Further, results from open-ended questions suggest that special education teacher preparation programs should include courses related specifically to strategies for teaching ELLs with disabilities, not just ELLs. ^